Undone Before a Holy God
January 6, 2026
Week 1 Focus, Why is trust even an issue?
“Then I said, ‘It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’” Isaiah 6:5
“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am the First and the Last.’” Revelation 1:17
Pause
Sit with this for ten seconds. You are reading what happens when a human being encounters the Holy One.
Break It Down
Isaiah doesn’t “start trying harder” when he encounters God, he is undone. The room is shaking, smoke fills the temple, and Isaiah’s confidence evaporates. He suddenly sees himself clearly in the light of God’s holiness.
John has the same response in Revelation, he falls at Jesus’ feet as if dead. But then comes the moment that changes it all, God does not crush the undone, He reaches for them.
Trust Question
When God feels overwhelming, do you pull back in fear, or do you trust His hand to hold you?
God’s Intention
God reveals His holiness to wake us up, not to drive us away. He wants us to stop trusting our image, our strength, our control, and come into the light where real transformation begins. And when we are undone, He does not abandon us. He steadies us.
Weave It In
This is why trust is even an issue, because most of us prefer a manageable God. A God we can fit into our plans, explain with our words, and approach on our own terms.
But Isaiah 6 doesn’t allow that.
When you truly see God as holy, trust becomes a deeper question than “Will God help me?” It becomes: “Can I surrender to a God who sees everything about me, and still comes close?”
Isaiah’s “woe is me” is honest. It’s the moment the mask falls away.
And John’s collapse is the same. Jesus is not just inspiring, He is weighty, pure and real.
In both moments, God’s presence is terrifying, and it’s healing. The Holy One is also the One who touches, speaks, and restores.
Practice for Today
Awe
1) Whisper: “Holy, holy, holy” three times. Slowly.
2) Pray: “Lord, show me who You are.”
3) Sit in silence for a minute.
4) Ask: “Where am I trying to manage You instead of trusting You?”
5) Surrender: “Jesus, I trust Your hand on my life.”
Prayer
Holy God, I confess that Your holiness unsettles me, because it exposes what I’d rather keep hidden. But I don’t want distance, I want You. Like Isaiah, I bring my “woe is me.” Like John, I fall at Your feet. And I receive Your hand upon me, and Your words, “Don’t be afraid.”
Teach me to trust You, not as a small God I can control, but as the Holy One who still draws near. In Jesus’ name, amen.